Audi Sport customer racing may be the returning class victor at the 2014 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, so you’d think that’d give them the leg up. And while Audi’s competition has learned never to sell them short, it’s fair to say that the changing landscape really means a fresh and somewhat unknown start for all.

Perhaps the biggest change from last year is the series shakeup set into play with last year’s merger of GRAND-AM and the American Le Mans Series. The two continued to run as-was through last season, but now they run as the newly-formed Tudor United SportsCar Championship (TUSC) with a new mix of classes.

What does this mean for Audi? For one, you won’t be seeing the LMP1 R18 e-tron quattro at any TUSC races and this includes the 12 Hours of Sebring. The R18 team will join the weekend later this season at Circuit of the Americas where the World Endurance Challenge will also compete, but the rest of the season will be made up of competition by Audi Sport customer racing teams fielding the R8 LMS ultra.

Fortunately for those fielding the R8 LMS, that car is more sorted than in the past. It now competes in the Pro/Amateur GTD class in a form closer to, but still not exactly in line with, the GT3 spec R8 LMS ultra in Europe. Nevertheless, aero is much improved and the cars are now all ultra spec unlike those that competed last year.

Another big change is that the only American R8 LMS team returning from previous years is the blue and white striped Fall-Line Motorsports car… and that team did not compete here in Daytona last year.

Even with a raft of new teams though, this doesn’t imply that there is a lack of experience. The returning Fall-Line Effort will be joined by two cars fielded by sportscar mainstays Flying Lizard Motorsports and Paul Miller Racing. The one new team in this field is GMG racing, and they’re not exactly newbs when you consider they nearly took the overall championship last year with the Audi R8 LMS in the Pirelli World Challenge Series. In many ways, they likely have the most experience racing the R8 LMS of each of the Audi teams running this weekend.

As far as drivers, there lineup is a mix of familiar faces for Audi motorsport aficionados. Hardcore motorsport fans will notice more. Below is a complete list of each car and driver, with notes for the history of racing Audis that we know of for each. Below that are other familiar past and present Audi racers that we’ve found registered to other cars. The latter will likely be most helpful to Audi fans who’ve made the trip down here to Daytona. Listed below are also known Twitter accounts for teams and drivers that should help you follow along whether you’re here at the track or elsewhere.

#32 Audi R8 LMS ultra GTD, GMG Racing @GMGRacing

James Sofronas (USA), @JamesSofronas – Last year Sofronas campaigned an R8 LMS with GMG in the Pirelli World Challenge. The California-based driver narrowly missed the series championship despite strong competition in the form of factory-backed programs from Cadillac and Volvo.Alex Welch (USA), @AlexanderWelch – Another GMG World Challenge alum, Welch campaigned the Spyder/Lasso #44 R8 and lives in Colorado.Frank Stipper (Germany) – On loan from Audi Sport, Stippler has logged time for Audi in the DTM, but has spent perhaps the most time of any factory driver in the R8 LMS. Stippler took 2 nd place in his class last year in the Rolex 24 at the wheel of the APR Motorsport R8 GRAND-AM and he won the 2012 24 Hours of Nurburgring outright at the wheel of an R8 LMS.Marc Basseng (Germany), @MarcBasseng – Also on loan from Audi Sport, Basseng is often teamed with Stippler, some of his most important victories are shared, including 2 nd place in last year’s Rolex 24 and the 2012 Nurburgring 24-hour race.

#35 Audi R8 LMS ultra GTD, Flying Lizard Motorsport, @FlyingLizard_MS

Seith Neiman (USA) – Though he’s new in an Audi, Seth has been racing for Flying Lizard for many years. That run includes several campaigns at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.Dion von Moltke (South Africa), @Dionvmracing – Dion was one of the first to compete in the R8 GRAND-AM with APR Motorsport, and won his class last year with Alex Job Racing.Alessandro Latif (UK), @AlessandroLatif – Latif is the fresh face in this group. How he performs and adds to this very strong lineup will be one of the stories to watch this year.Filipe Albuquerque (Portugal), @AlbuquerqueFil – Albuquerque first entered the Audi orbit as a driver for Audi Sport Italia in the R8 LMS. He later went on to win the Race of Champions and take a seat on Audi’s DTM team. He was part of last year’s class-winning team at the Rolex 24 and he’s just recently traded his RS 5 DTM for a seat in the #3 Audi R18 e-tron quattro bound for Le Mans.

#45 Audi R8 LMS ultra GTD, Flying Lizard Motorsport, @FlyingLizard_MS

Nelson Canache Jr. (Venezuela), @NelsonCanache – To our readers, Canache is best known for competing at the wheel of the APR Audi R8 GRAND-AM. He left the Audi fold for a while, but he’s back and competing for the Lizards.Spencer Pumpelly (USA), @SpencerPumpelly – Like several of his teammates, Pumpelly may be new to an Audi but he’s got a long list of successes as a Flying Lizard veteran. Tim Pappas (USA), @tpap54 – Papas migrates over from Black Swan racing to join the Lizards. This is the first time we’ve seen him in an Audi.Markus Winkelhock (Germany), @m_winkelhock – “Winkie” is another driver on loan from the Audi factory and boasts a long history of successes in the R8 LMS in Europe. Last year he competed with the RumBum racing team at the Rolex24 and, had he not run out of fuel on the last turn, he’d have likely enjoyed a place on the podium.

#46 Audi R8 LMS ultra GTD, Fall-Line Motorsports, @FallLineMotors

Charlie Putnam (USA) – Putnam is one of the full-season drivers that Fall-Line brings to the Rolex24. Charles Espenlaub (USA), @CEspenlaub – Like his teammate, Esplenaub will be a season-long entry for Fall-Line.Oliver Jarvis (UK), @ollyjarvis – Also on loan from the Audi factory, Jarvis is the third member of last year’s winning Audi team to return this year. He’s also a member of the Audi Sport WEC team and won last year’s 12 Hours of Sebring at the wheel of an Audi R18 e-tron quattro.James Walker (UK), @jameswalker_ – Last year Walker competed for JMW Motorsport in the WEC and won the WEC race in Silverstone. He joins the team for the Rolex 24.

#48 Audi R8 LMS ultra GTD, Paul Miller Racing, @paulmilleracing

Bryce Miller (USA), @bryceracer – Bryce Miller joins the Audi fold with the addition of the Paul Miller Racing team. His most recent victory in Daytona was a 2 nd place finish in 2011.Matt Bell (UK), @mattbellracing – If you follow the UK-based United AutoSports R8 LMS team, then Matt Bell is a familiar face. As such, the Brit brings a fair amount of experience with the R8 LMS to this new Audi team.Rene Rast (Germany), @renerastracing – Last year Rene Rast may not have won the Rolex 24, but he proved one of the fastest on the track to wield an R8 GRAND-AM. Rast also joined the GMG roster at the close of last season in hopes of helping cement the championship. He is a most solid addition to the team on loan from the Audi factory.Christopher Haase (Germany) – Another Audi factory driver young gun, this year will mark Christopher Haase’s first time contesting the Rolex24. With that you’d think he’d have some catching up to do… but it just so happened that he successfully nailed pole position just today in qualifying.